Fox River Grove board approves annexation

FOX RIVER GROVE – Construction of a new house on Gardner Road in the Bayview Subdivision took a step forward Thursday as the village annexed about a half-acre of land.

The builder, Michael Graft, is planning to build on a parcel at 212 Gardner Road that is a little more than a half-acre, as well as extend a sewer line from 1,800 to 2,000 feet from the Victoria Woods subdivision along Gardner Road to connect to the house.

Graft said he still has to finalize a variety of permits before construction can begin.

Even with the extension of the sewer line, none of the current residents would be required to connect immediately after the line is completed.

Residents in the area currently have septic sewer systems.

After construction of the sanitary sewer line, the Village Board will put together a recapture agreement when the costs have been finalized.

Under the annexation agreement that was approved Thursday, residents who connect to the sanitary sewer system will have to pay both a tap-on fee and a recapture fee. The tap-on fee would be for connecting to the sewer line.

The recapture fee for each house would be based on an appropriate share of the costs incurred by Graft for building the sewer line. There also would be 6 percent annual interest rate applied between the time the sewer line is accepted into the village and the 30 days prior to the time residents connect to the sewer system or 10 years after the line is accepted by the village, whichever is earlier.

The cost of the sewer line has yet to be determined, Graft said Thursday night.

Residents who live in the subdivision, but are part of unincorporated McHenry County, had expressed concerns about the possible stormwater runoff from the proposed new house.

However, before the project moves forward, it would have to comply with McHenry County stormwater ordinances.

Graft said he expects it would take five to six months to build the house.

Graft has said when people build houses today, the standards for stormwater drainage are much more strict than they were 20 to 30 years ago. Graft said his company will meet those standards.